Luzerne union: vol. 7, no. 21

THE MOUNTAIN MEADOWS MAS-SACRE.
It will be remembered that some time ago a company of one hundred emigrants, on their way from Arkansas to California, were massacred at Mountain Meadows, by the Indians, as was reported ; but various subsequent developments have established the conviction that these were merely tools in the hands of the Mormons themselves. An eye-witness of the transaction has been found at last, and the San Francisco Bul-letin has received, from an official source at Salt Lake, a statement of his account of the affair. He says the massacre was designed and carried into execution to get possession of the thirty wagons and seven or eight hundred head of cattle belonging to the emigrants. His statement, which is as follows, reveals a most shocking ex-hibition of cruelty and crime. That civil-ized beings could be guilty of such con-duct, seems hardly credible:
"While I was residing at Cedar City, I was called upon by Messrs. Isaac Hight, John D. Lee, and John Higbee—all three Mormon military officers—to go a few miles out south of the city, which I did. There I found thirty or forty others, selected from different settlements. We were ad-dressed by the above officers, who told us that they had sent Canosh, the Paravant Chief, with his warriors, to destroy the Arkansas company, and that if he had not done it we must; and that if any of us refused, or betrayed them to the Ameri-cans, they would take good care of him hereafter. Here we were all ordered on the quick march to the Mountain Mea-dows, where we found the emigrants with their wagons formed into two circles, with their families in the midst, trying to de-fend themselves against the merciless and blood-thirsty savages, who lay around in ambush, killing them as opportunity pre-sented.
“Hight and Lee formed their men in-to two companies, and made a precipitate rush at the poor defenceless victims. The men inside of the circles rose up, but in-stantly fell dead or mortally wounded, un-der the fire of the wretches who so cruelly sought their lives. Nothing remained to be done, except to kill the frightened fe-males and their innocent children clasped, in their arms. Others clung with despera-tion to their bleeding, dying husbands, pleading in vain for mercy at the hands of the “Christians" who controlled the no mere savage Indian assailants.
"John D. Lee now sent to the Indian chief and his men in ambush to come out and finish the survivors, directing him to spare only the little children, who could not talk. The savages came instantly, with knives drawn, and speedily finished the bloody work. The scene beggars des-cription. The demoniac yells of the sav-age monsters, mingled with the shrieks and prayers of helpless mothers and daugh-ters, while the death-blows were dealing with unflinching hands, and scalps were torn from heads which bloomed with beau-ty and innocence but a few hours before. Now the work of butchery ended. The murderers threw the dead into two heaps, covered them slightly with earth, and left them to feed the wolves and birds of prey,' and returned home with their booty of cattle, and wagons, and a great quantity of goods, &c."

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THE MOUNTAIN MEADOWS MAS-SACRE.
It will be remembered that some time ago a company of one hundred emigrants, on their way from Arkansas to California, were massacred at Mountain Meadows, by the Indians, as was reported ; but various subsequent developments have established the conviction that these were merely tools in the hands of the Mormons themselves. An eye-witness of the transaction has been found at last, and the San Francisco Bul-letin has received, from an official source at Salt Lake, a statement of his account of the affair. He says the massacre was designed and carried into execution to get possession of the thirty wagons and seven or eight hundred head of cattle belonging to the emigrants. His statement, which is as follows, reveals a most shocking ex-hibition of cruelty and crime. That civil-ized beings could be guilty of such con-duct, seems hardly credible:
"While I was residing at Cedar City, I was called upon by Messrs. Isaac Hight, John D. Lee, and John Higbee—all three Mormon military officers—to go a few miles out south of the city, which I did. There I found thirty or forty others, selected from different settlements. We were ad-dressed by the above officers, who told us that they had sent Canosh, the Paravant Chief, with his warriors, to destroy the Arkansas company, and that if he had not done it we must; and that if any of us refused, or betrayed them to the Ameri-cans, they would take good care of him hereafter. Here we were all ordered on the quick march to the Mountain Mea-dows, where we found the emigrants with their wagons formed into two circles, with their families in the midst, trying to de-fend themselves against the merciless and blood-thirsty savages, who lay around in ambush, killing them as opportunity pre-sented.
“Hight and Lee formed their men in-to two companies, and made a precipitate rush at the poor defenceless victims. The men inside of the circles rose up, but in-stantly fell dead or mortally wounded, un-der the fire of the wretches who so cruelly sought their lives. Nothing remained to be done, except to kill the frightened fe-males and their innocent children clasped, in their arms. Others clung with despera-tion to their bleeding, dying husbands, pleading in vain for mercy at the hands of the “Christians" who controlled the no mere savage Indian assailants.
"John D. Lee now sent to the Indian chief and his men in ambush to come out and finish the survivors, directing him to spare only the little children, who could not talk. The savages came instantly, with knives drawn, and speedily finished the bloody work. The scene beggars des-cription. The demoniac yells of the sav-age monsters, mingled with the shrieks and prayers of helpless mothers and daugh-ters, while the death-blows were dealing with unflinching hands, and scalps were torn from heads which bloomed with beau-ty and innocence but a few hours before. Now the work of butchery ended. The murderers threw the dead into two heaps, covered them slightly with earth, and left them to feed the wolves and birds of prey,' and returned home with their booty of cattle, and wagons, and a great quantity of goods, &c."